Evaluation of combined radiofrequency and chemical blockade of multi-segmental lumbar sympathetic ganglia in painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN) is one of the most common complications of diabetes. PDPN seriously affects the quality of life and is difficult to treat; therefore, there is an urgent need for new cost-effective treatment methods for PDPN. To investigate the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RF) combined with anhydrous ethanol (AE) chemical blockade of lumbar sympathetic ganglia (LSG) in patients with PDPN using computed tomography (CT). Retrospective comparative study. Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University. Ninety patients diagnosed with PDPN were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly divided into AE group (A, n=30), RF group (B, n=30), and RF+ AE group (C, n=30). The follow-up included preoperative basic conditions, visual analog scale (VAS), the total remission rate (TRR), skin temperature (ST) and the improvement of numbness and hyperalgesia in the lower extremities, complications, and degree of satisfaction (DOS) before and after surgery. Postoperative VASs were significantly decreased compared to preoperative VASs in all groups (